Sayonara to my Dreams
by Psyubii
Summary: Mia Barrington. Jaded and hurt by the events of her life, the young tabby-cougar mix is left with a curiosity: what would have happened if she had gone with the other guy? A discovery leaves her curious about what may have been--with Panther Caruso....
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Bloody and hurt you ask why

The world has left you alone to cry

Bruised and broken you utter a plea

"Why have you taken all from me?"

The world passes by without a word

So much you wonder if you were even heard.

Now seal up your heart and keep it tight

And don't ever let anyone see you cry.

"Mia! Mia, can we get a word?"

"How do you feel now that you're off the hook?"

The reporter's questions were all the same, all hungering for information of what just came to pass in the courtroom. But their victim, a beautiful tabby-mountain lion mix, was stoic. She simply walked through the crowd as though they didn't exist, the photographers and reporters parting so they could get a perfect shot. Mia Barrington was not going to give them what they wanted.

She stopped only long enough to climb in the _Coring Aldebaran SE_, a slick and ecologically-friendly HV. HV's, or Hover Vehicles, had almost entirely replaced the vehicles that had tires in a matter of years. The Aldebaran belonged to her lawyer, who got in the driver seat.

"How 'bout a celebratory meal? My treat."

"Home. And for the record, if I were in the mood, it would be my treat since you'd be paying with what I just gave you. I only want to fade away; a night on the town would draw too much."

"K. Too bad your dream couldn't come true."

"Dreams are nothing more than promises that only exist in our head. Goals are real. Goals are solid. Goals can be reached. Dreams are the stars in a child's eyes."

"That child can reach those stars one day."

"Not without a lot of help or some damned miracle."

The conversation had remained silent for the rest of the ride. Mia lived in a small apartment on the middle side of Corneria City. She was conveniently close to the Persimmon's building, a place that had just about everything on its five floors. The walls were soundproof, so she couldn't hear the near constant traffic.

Silently she looked around the apartment with silent indifference. Oddly, Mia found herself sitting on her couch and looking through a yearbook of hers. It was her senior year at Rockies 405 when this was put together, and there were only two sets of handwriting in it, appearing all over the place. One, a soft, not-too-girly mix of normal and cursive writing, was hers. She had jotted random notes about different trips and events, and even a few people. The other resembled a hasty normal writing, with everything seeming to be in all caps, the capital letters being larger than others. That writing was her one and only friend, Panther Caruso.

She chuckled lightly, finding it odd to think about him. Mia and Panther met when he exchanged to Rockies 405, and their friendship, though tested often, blossomed into love. Mia allowed her imagination to wander, curious to know what may have happened had they stayed together.

Panther was always a gentleman, so much so that by his action alone all the other boys were spurred to do the same just to keep up with him. Their wedding would be no quick visit to the Justice of the Peace; it would be something romantic. Their song would have to be something nice and slow so he could slowly waltz with her, spinning her lightly and dipping her expertly. The honeymoon wouldn't be some simple camping trip; it would be a lodge visit to the beautiful mountains of MacBeth, or to a wonderful cruise on Aquas. Mia would have been inspired to make art with a lighter feel to it, so she'd make more money. This meant a bigger apartment on the upper part of the city. Closing the yearbook, she whipped away her tears. Those were only dreams, and she had said goodbye to them a long time ago.

Aimlessly and restlessly Mia began to wander across the apartment. She was searching for nothing of meaning, and she just seemed to move about in a trance. She went to the bedroom and looked under the bed, where she found a box that she never new existed.

"What were you up to Joe?" She whispered as she pulled it out. Joe was her former husband.

Opening it up, she found envelopes. The writing on all of them matched, and it was in a spidery-writing, one almost too familiar. Then she saw the name on the return address.

"Panther…he's been trying to contact me, and Joe hid them." Mia looked closely at all the dates, and carefully read each letter. During the time that he had completely vanished, the one trace he left were these letters. At first he was just letting her know he was okay. He couldn't tell her the details, but he wanted her to know he was alive and well when all the world thought he was dead. Then as time passed on, he became more frantic; more worried about her. He finally announced in one letter that he would join Star Wolf in the hopes that they would help him find her and make sure she was safe. There was no real return address, but they all bore the same name.

Panther Caruso.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A week later, things were going much better than Mia had hoped. Reporters still hastled her for a story, but she refused. Other than that, life still carried on. She got a few commissions that paid well, and was going to start her second commission. The owner of an apartment uptown was apparently moving away, and wanted a painting of the view she had at sunset. Mia was able to get most of the colors down, leaving just a few minor details to work out from memory. This would take a few hours, as the canvas was big, but the old lady went ahead and paid her anyway, despite Mia's typical policy of not charging till the picture was finished.

"It's turning out marvelous," commented the little old cerval.

"Thanks. I'm glad you like it so far. I just have to get some of the details; water shimmers, the occasional boat, ect."

"It's going to be marvelous. I can't wait to show it off to all my friends!"

"Okay." Mia left and silently went back to her apartment. The night would be an easy one.

She put on the song "Close Every Door" by Andrew Lloyd Webber. She didn't know nor care what it came from; it was a song that fit her so well. She began to sing along to the lyrics.

"Close every door to me, hide all the world from me, bar all the windows and shut out the light. Do what you want with me, hate me and laugh at me. Darken my daytime, and torture my night! If my life were important I would ask will I live or die? But I know the answers, lie far from this world."

She let it play through a few times through, repeating the song several times. It took that, a few more songs, and a small glass of reiling to get the picture completed. She let the paint dry before applying a clear coat of varnish to protect it. She would take it to her framer the next day. Nestling in her den, she turned on the tv. Nothing but bad news. She clicked it off and sipped on a glass of water. A good book would be perfect right now, but the only thing that sounded good was a crime drama. And the thought of reading a story with murder in it didn't sound all that great.

"Maybe I could do a painting." She thought on it. "Maybe not. I guess it's time for bed then." She changed into a spaghetti-strap tanktop and some baggy bed pants. She tied her long hair into a loose sleeping braid and brushed her teeth. She just about jumped out of her skin when she heard a thump at the door. Thinking it was a burglar, she slowly inched towards the door, ready to run at a moment's notice. As she inched closer, she began to hear something. A voice?

"Please! Help me…" The last part gurgled. Adrenaline took over, and Mia opened the door. Panther collapsed into her apartment, a nasty gash racing from his right collarbone and down to his left side. His breathing was ragged. She quickly dialed 911, hoping above all else they would come.

When Leon and Wolf barged into the hospital room, Mia was sitting quietly next to Panther, holding his hand. He was silently sleeping, due mostly to the anesthesia he was under. Mia looked at them with worried eyes.

"What happened?" Wolf asked.

"Someone tore into him. He collapsed on my doorstep." Mia looked back at Panther, who was still sleeping. "By the Guards I hope he's going to be okay."

"I'm sure he will. Panther's a tough cat." Leon chimed in.

"I hope so. Damn, he was just supposed to be visiting his family…how'd this happen?"

"Family? Is that what Panther told you he was doing?" The look on the cat's face unnerved him.

"Yeah. We decided to visit our families and patch things up with them."

"Panther doesn't have any family."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It was a number of years back. Panther and I were high school students together. Then one day, he just vanished. A few years later, they found the bodies of his mother, his younger twin brother and sister, and his father. It turns out, his father was in the War of Chaos. He suffered from PTSD, and went off on the family. A few months later, Panther shows up with you guys, and he has that old scar." She pointed to it. "I'm guessing that's a memento from his father."

"I…I never would have guessed. Panther showed us all sorts of pictures of his family. In fact, he even showed us a picture or two of you. You're Mia Barrington, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"The Guards blessed him when he landed on your doorstep."

"We'll see…"

Mia was uncertain how to take the other members of Star Wolf. Leon hardly said a word, and Wolf seemed too talkative. She just wanted Panther to wake up….

"Mrrmmm, hmmm…." Panther mumbled. The anesthesia was wearing off. "Where am I?" His voice was groggy, but somehow managed to hold that hypnotic tone that Mia remembered him most by.

"Panther? Oh thank goodness. You're at the hospital."

"Mia? What are you doing here?"

"You landed on my door."

"Oh."

Mia pinched his nose hard enough for his yelp to wake up Wolf and Leon.

"What was that for?!?"

"What in the name of all that is sane were you doing running around and getting cut up?"

"I got in a fight with a few guys."

"And why in the name of the Guards were you doing fighting with other people?"

"They were talking about you. They were going to hurt you."

Mia looked in confusion at him. "And why exactly were they intending to harm me?"

Panther's look was solemn, and his voice was very concerned. "They said you killed some of their friends. Who did you kill?"

Mia froze. Suddenly she went from concerned to pissed off. "That's no body's business! I acted entirely in self defense and if they want to harm me, I'll act just the same! Now you stay outta trouble and stop lying to your friends."

"I didn't—"

"I don't care! If you hadn't have lied to them, you wouldn't be in this mess and I wouldn't be ready to bawl my eyes out thinking you're about to die!" Mia stormed out the room, leaving Panther to lower his eyes in guilt of his actions. Mia walked all the way out of the hospital and to her car before she started crying. "Stupid Panther! Why can't he just think?"


End file.
